Occurrence of Valerenic acid and valepotriates in taxa related to Valeriana officinalis L. s.l.

Helma Hendriks 30.49Saxion University of Applied Sciences J.J.C. Scheffer Abstract Subterranean parts of five subspecies of the collective species Valeriana officinalis L. s.l. as well as of some other Valeriana species were analysed for valerenic acid and valepotriates by HPLC. Although valerenic acid is recognized as a lead compound of V. officinalis, we also found this sesquiterpenoid in Valeriana species that are not considered as members of the collective species. It is concluded that either valerenic acid is not exclusive for the collective species V. officinalis, or the collective species should be extended with some other subspecies. In addition, the presence of valepotriates is reported in species that were not known to contain these compounds so far.